Kevin O'Sullivan reveals how Florida can carry momentum from Sunday into Game 3 of College World Series Finals

Florida is flying high heading into Game 3 of the College World Series Finals after a record-setting performance in Game 2. The Gators defeated LSU 24-4 to force the winner-take-all contest, setting CWS records for runs, margin of victory and home runs (six) in a single game.

Still, Monday is a new day. As impressive as Sunday’s outing was, Florida coach Kevin O’Sullivan is preaching to his players to focus on the present as they aim for their second national championship in program history.

“Yesterday was yesterday,” he said pregame on SEC Network. “Obviously guys are real excited about how they played yesterday, but once again it sounds like the old cliché. We can’t take any runs from yesterday into today. We know it’s gonna be a difficult ball game and everything comes down to one game. We’re excited to be a part of it.”

Jac Caglianone was one of the many stars from Sunday’s big win. He was among two Gators players to record two home runs along with Ty Evans, including a two-RBI homer in the eighth inning for his 33rd this season.

That long ball made a piece of personal history for Caglianone. Not only did he break the school single-season record, but also the record for home runs in the BBCOR era. The next day, he was named the National Player of the Year by the American Baseball Coaches Association.

O’Sullivan admitted that reaching that milestone has taken some of the pressure off of Caglianone heading into Monday’s game. There he will hope to make his presence felt both at the plate and on the mound, as he is the Gators’ starting pitcher.

“It’s interesting,” O’Sullivan said. “I think Jac had broken a single-season record for RBIs at Florida and obviously the home run record. I think it’s been weighing on him a little bit, so hopefully he can take that momentum into today on the mound.”

A left-handed pitcher, Caglianone is set to make his 18th start of the season. So far he has posted a 3.68 ERA with 85 strikeouts across 73.1 innings of work.

O’Sullivan led Florida to its only College World Series title in 2017, which also came against LSU. As he leads the Gators into the decisive game coming off of Sunday’s big performance, he’ll hope to do so again.

Game 3 between the Gators and Tigers got underway a little after 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.